Young Men in Spats

Uncle Fred #0.5

by P.G. Wodehouse

These eleven stories describe the misadventures of the delightfully idle "Eggs," "Beans," and "Crumpets" that populate the Drones club: young men wearing spats, starting spats, and landing in sticky spots. For the first of his many appearances in the Wodehouse canon, Uncle Fred comes to what he believes to be the rescue.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Short Stories, Classics, Comedy, Audiobook, Literature

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be widely read over 40 years after his death. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.

An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.

Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).

Reviews

[Pramod Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Wodehouse is always a perfect antidote for depression, stress and boredom, as the wonderful world that the author creates in his stories through charming narrations involving loveable characters and hilarious happenings always acts as a magical restorative to the frayed nerves. Nothing disastrous or bad happens in the landscape of Wodehouse narratives and they always fill the reader with a healthy dose of cheerfulness.

Young Men in Spats can be seen as a fine example for this timeless comedy and the clean yet delightful humor that where a feature of P.G. Wodehouse stories. Originally published in 1936, this compilation of eleven short stories is loaded with enough wit and signature Wodehouse style of narration, which will engulf the reader in a blanket of cozy comfort.

This collection, which contains eight Eggs, Beans And Crumpets tales featuring the members of the Drones club and three Angler’s Rest stories featuring Mr. Mulliner has some of the most hilarious & recognizable characters created by Wodehouse – other than Bertie Wooster and Jeeves – making their appearance. One of my favorite Wodehouse characters, Uncle Fred along with his nephew Pongo Twistleton makes their debut in one of the short stories featuring the Drones club in this anthology.

The short stories in this anthology present sidesplitting accounts of upper-class characters getting muddled in preposterous situations often involving monetary issues, pursuit of love, eccentric uncles and unsentimental aunts. Like other Wodehouse tales these tales brim with excellent usage of verbal humor, engaging metaphors, fascinating descriptions of the characters and ridiculously funny situations which will leave the reader laughing in a blissful state of mind. Tales like ‘The Amazing Hat Mystery’, ‘Goodbye to all cats’, ‘Uncle Fred Flits By’ and ‘Archibald and the masses’ can be regarded as some of the very best short stories ever written by Wodehouse.

If you are looking for a book that is meant for light-hearted reading with a heavy dose of humor then Young Men in Spats will not disappoint you.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncle Fred, FTW!

This was a nice group of fun short stories and I enjoyed all of them, but Uncle Fred Flits By is the reason you need to read this one. That one had me LOLing in the car while I was listening to it.
Not really surprising since the whole reason I wanted to read this collection to start with is that it was listed as having the introduction of Uncle Fred in it. And I love me some Uncle Fred.
He's everything I hope to be and more as I get older. I only wish I had a nephew like Pongo that I could terrify and embarrass. As it is, I'll have to stick to terrorizing my children.
Such is life.



This is a really good collection of P.G. Wodehouse shorts, dealing with all the crumpets from the Drones Club telling stories of each other's mishaps and woes.
Funny stuff!
I wouldn't say to start here if you're new to Wodehouse, but for longtime fans, I'd say it's a must-read.
Recommended.

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains avowedly some of the funniest Wodehouse stories about... well, young men in spats. Of these, three stories of Freddie Widgeon (who loves and losses girls at regular intervals), two stories about Archibald Mulliner (yet another of Mr. Mulliner's nephews) and the lone story about Pongo Twistleton's eccentric uncle Fred - Lord Ickenham - are absolute gems. They still double me up.

The stories are:

1. Fate - Freddie Widgeon learns the hard way that helping females in distress is not a fit occupation for affianced young men in America, because "sugar daddies" are always being discovered in "love nests" there.

2. Tried in the Furnace - Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps and Pongo Twistleton run after the same girl, thus trying their friendship in the furnace - so to speak.

3. Trouble Down at Tudsleigh - Freddie Widgeon learns that Tennyson is not a very safe device to woo a girl, when her impressionable younger sister is listening.

4. The Amazing Hat Mystery - A plain mix-up or something to do with the fourth dimension? You decide.

5. Goodbye to All Cats - This is the most hilarious Widgeon story ever. He losses his girl (of course!) after paying a visit to her pet-infested home.

6. The Luck of the Stiffhams - Young Stiffham proves that luck is the most important thing in life - after some hair-raising adventures, of course.

7. Noblesse Oblige - Freddie Widgeon learns that being loyal to one's high-school code does not always bode well for romance.

8. Uncle Fred Flits By - In one of his "instructive" afternoons, Lord Ickenham makes life hell for his nephew Pongo but hilarious for the rest of us. His impersonations of various persona in this story is mind-boggling.

9. Archibald and the Masses - Mulliner's nephew becomes a communist through the influence of his valet, but finds it rather hard going for a pampered young man of the idle rich class.

10. The Code of the Mulliners - Archibald thinks there may be madness in his family, and wants to get his fiance break off his engagement. Easier said than done!

11. The Fiery Wooing of Mordred - Mulliner's nephew, Mordred the poet, literally sets things on fire - a talent much sought by the dad of his lady love, an impoverished aristocrat. A hilarious comedy and also a biting satire on post-war British gentry.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the eleven stories here, the first seven feature the foolish members of The Drones Club: falling in love, betting, always ending up in the soup. There are some corkers here with my favourites being the hilarious 'Goodbye to all Cats' and 'Trouble down in Tudsleigh'. Freddie Widgeon and Pongo Twistelton feature in many of these tales and while I don't have the same affection for them as I do for Bingo Little and Bertie, they're definitely from the same idiotic mould.

The second half of four stories didn't work for me and I ended up skipping them: these were three Mulliner stories and one Uncle Fred. I know Fred is a favourite of many Wodehouse fans but he gives me the creeps: there's something just too unctuous about him. and here his exploits of breaking into someone else's house just to take shelter from the rain wasn't amusing me in the slightest.

Still, seven out of eleven isn't bad: I always miss the Blandings crowd as well as Bertie and Jeeves, but the Drones are wittily ridiculous enough to make me happy.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps you have been wondering if you should risk it and read some Wodehouse, but are afraid to start just in case you find that this is some sort of proof of what you have long suspected - that Trevor McCandless has no sense of humour and his advice is not worth a pinch of salt. Well, all I can say is get your hands on this book and read just one story - Good-bye to All Cats. If you don't find this story amusing (well, actually, hilarious) we can have nothing further to say to one another.

I know, that seems harsh - but it is the way life is, I'm afraid. If four and a half billion years of evolution has left you without a sense of humour then there is nothing for it.

It was obvious I was going to love this story from the off. The early paragraphs in which he establishes that the two young people are in love is remarkable in its simplicity and had me in stitches when they started shoving each other.

The cats and the father and how these two come together - honestly.

I really loved the father asking his daughter - supposedly under his breath, but actually loud enough to be heard in Canada, "Who's the half-wit?" About her new boyfriend at the dinner table - I'm taking notes for when the daughters begin bringing around young gentlemen to my place.

But the line about the dog making a sotto voce impersonation of distant thunder ...

If this was the only funny story in the book it would justify the reading. But there's more, so much more - and all nearly as good - though, obviously, not quite. After all, we are talking about near perfection here.

Glorious stuff.

[Jason Koivu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh I say! Yes, jolly good, this! *nonsensical ejaculation!-cough-mutter* Another rollicking good time with the, ah, inane rich gentlemen of yesteryear - capital chaps! *throat-clearing tick* as, ah, as penned by the prolific P.G. Wodehouse...Sir Pelham Grenville, "Plum" as we called him back in good old Dulwich. Marvelous school that. He made out well there, if I recall...a First XI cricketer, I think. *wanders off in cloudy musings* Wodehouse...Wodehouse...Respectable Norfolk family, the Wodehouses, what? And what a smashing good writer the old bean turned out to be! Some say this, this, what's it...Young Men in Spats isn't as memorable as his Jeeves and Wooster stuff. Well, *huff!* I have nothing to say to that, but *huff! huff!* but that it's a bunch of hogwash and claptrap! No, no. Bunch of nonsense. Why, I chortled and snorted my way through from start to finish!

[Ahtims · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore PG Wodehouse, and have been reading and rereading his books at intervals since my early teens. Took up this book with great hopes, but somehow this collection of short stories fell. short somewhere. The overall theme was same...young men trying to win their sweethearts by hook or by crook, often with hilarious results. The vintage Wodehouse humor was there , but this time round I wasn't much affected.
it was just above average sort of book, though a couple of stories were really interesting.
I always prefer his novels to anthologies, Jeeves and Uncle Fred series being my favorites.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven amusing stories set around members of the Drones club. All of them bring a smile to the face. Misunderstandings abound with resolutions in the end. Freddie Widegon, Pongo, several Mullner’s and an appearance by Uncle Fred all create hilarious situations. The amazing hat mystery, Archibald and Aurelia’s on again off again relationship, a traumatic visit by Uncle Fred to Pongo and a visit to the suburbs all weave a hilarious tapestry of hilarity.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories, marvellously narrated by Jonathan Cecil, is told by and to various Eggs, Beans and Crumpets who belong to the Drones Club, relating gossip of the recent activities of some of their fellow club members. My favorites were "The Amazing Hat Mystery" and "Uncle Fred Flits By" but all the stories were great fun.

Contents:
"Fate" (Drone Freddie Widgeon)
"Tried in the Furnace" (Drones Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps and Pongo Twistleton)
"Trouble Down at Tudsleigh" (Drone Freddie Widgeon)
"The Amazing Hat Mystery" (Drones Percy Wimbolt and Nelson Cork)
"Goodbye to All Cats" (Drone Freddie Widgeon)
"The Luck of the Stiffhams" (Drone Stiffy Stiffham)
"Noblesse Oblige" (Drone Freddie Widgeon)
"Uncle Fred Flits By" (Drone Pongo Twistleton, Uncle Fred)
"Archibald and the Masses" (Drone Archibald Mulliner, told by Mr Mulliner)
"The Code of the Mulliners" (Drone Archibald Mulliner, told by Mr Mulliner)
"The Fiery Wooing of Mordred" (non-Drone story told by Mr Mulliner)

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sparkling collection of stories from 1936 (not 1922 as this 1957 reprint has it - which is peculiar given that both the original edition and this ‘Autograph Edition’ reprint were published by Herbert Jenkins, Wodehouse’s publisher for much of his career). Bibliographical nerdery aside, it’s a pot-pourri of delights for the Wodehouse fan, featuring several stories about the habitues of the Drones Club; the first incarnation in print of one of Wodehouse’s greatest characters, Uncle Fred, in Uncle Fred Flits By, a masterclass of comic invention and timing and one of the funniest short stories ever committed to paper; and concluding with three Mr Mulliner stories, which are of course reliably brilliant. I’d encountered many of these stories in various anthologies over the years but some were delightful new discoveries, not least Trouble Down at Tudsleigh and Goodbye to All Cats, both featuring the hapless Freddie Widgeon.

[Steven R. Kraaijeveld · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It began to seem to Pongo that with any luck he might be able to keep the old blister pottering harmlessly about here till nightfall, when he could shoot a bit of dinner into him and put him to bed. And as Lord Ickenham had specifically stated that his wife, Pongo's Aunt Jane, had expressed her intention of scalping him with a blunt knife if he wasn't back at the Hall by lunchtime on the morrow, it really looked as if he might get through this visit without perpetrating a single major outrage on the public weal. It is rather interesting to note that as he thought this Pongo smiled, because it was the last time he smiled that day." (174)

This collection of relatively early stories centers on various members of the Drones Club, as they recount tales of their own and others' shenanigans and misfortunes. Of note is that Uncle Fred makes his appearance here for the first time. I didn't love all of the stories, but most of them were entertaining enough and a couple of them quite good, particularly Uncle Fred Flits By, from which I quote above.

[Tori Whitacre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. I’m not sure I won’t be able to think of people as eggs, beans, or crumpets!

[Graychin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is there to say? Wodehouse is joyful reading. My favorite stories collected in the present volume are “Fate,” “Uncle Fred Flits By,” “Tried in the Furnace” and “Goodbye to All Cats.” But my very favorite is “Archibald and the Masses,” in which Archibald Mulliner (champion hen imitator) nearly loses the esteem of his fiancée when, through the influence of his Jacobin manservant, he becomes infatuated with the plight of the martyred proletariat.

[Sara Platero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como siempre, Wodehouse no decepciona en cuanto a entretenimiento se refiere.

Esta novela recoge relatos cortos de hombres de clase alta pertenecientes al "Club de los Zánganos". Algunos de los protagonistas aparecen en más de una ocasión en los relatos de forma que sus personajes van evolucionando durante la lectura de la novela.

Las historias, como es habitual en el autor, suelen ser malentendidos que se crean de las formas más surrealistas posibles y que se resuelven de forma divertida para el lector, aunque no tanto para los protagonistas que suelen salir escaldados.

Si quieres pasar un buen rato y leer algo ligero sin duda Wodehouse es una opción excelente.

[Tanmay Jadhav · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a splendid read to get back into the habit of reading. Probably the best author to ever put words to paper.

Even though it’s a compilation of short stories of 2 young men inter spread through London and the book alike, the conversation like flow to the stories is the crux of Wodehouse’s storytelling. Not as non cerebral as one might think but quite successful in engender a chuckle whilst you read this on your daily commute or the local library as I did.

Additionally, I was also reminded of how great it feels to hold a book in your hand instead of an iPad which although has it’s advantages but has nothing on paper when it comes to eliciting nostalgia and the ‘experience’ of reading a book.

[Lory Hess]

Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle

In need of some comic relief, I wanted to read through the Uncle Fred stories starting with this, the book in which he first appears. He's only in one of the short stories -- "Uncle Fred Flits By" -- but that one is a prize of the collection. It's a hilarious episode in which said Uncle Fred (aka the Earl of Ickenham) torments his nephew Pongo (one of the "young men in spats") by dragging him along as he descends on unsuspecting citizens in a variety of false identities. Further analysis would be useless and only detract from the comic pleasure; read the story and have your funny bone tickled.

The other stories were also entertaining, if you enjoy reading highly verbal comedy mixed with slapstick about feckless young men in England between the wars. Wodehouse is the indisputable master of the genre and this collection is a good sampling of his best stuff.

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Percy continued to stare before him like a man who has drained the wine-cup of life to its lees, only to discover a dead mouse at the bottom.

I began reading this book after attempts to read three other books—Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Leopard and Keep the Aspidistra Flying—all failed within a couple of paragraphs of starting. By the time I’d set down the third book, I knew nothing but Wodehouse would serve. I needed something that didn’t wear me down, something light and entertaining. Something like Buck-u-Uppo. Wodehouse, of course.

This collection consists of short stories featuring—as its title suggests—various young men, most of them members of the Drones (though there are a few stories, the ones at the end of the book, which feature Mr Mulliner’s nephews). All of the ‘young men in spats’, with one exception, are also young men in love: nearly all have their stories centered round girls they’ve fallen in love with. There are unattainable girls, girls who’ve said yes but who are in danger of being lost, and girls to be wooed. There are rivals, there are frightening relatives, and other obstacles in the path of true love. And, in inimitable Wodehouse style, the situations are fun, but the icing on the cake is the writing, so brilliantly witty and intelligent that you can’t help but admire the genius of this man.

(The exception to the ‘young men in love’ motif is Pongo Twistleton, who appears in the unforgettably hilarious Uncle Fred Flits By, one of my favourite Wodehouse short stories. Though Pongo does feel a sweeping infatuation for the pretty girl he encounters in the house where he poses briefly as assistant to vet, nephew, and then again vet, the story isn’t about the one-sided love of Pongo at all).

I couldn’t recommend this more.

[J.G. Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a bit of time, at least from this particular volume, to recognize the reasons for Wodehouse's pre-eminance as British Humorist. I still did not find that those reasons were able to upturn Adams or Pope, but Wodehouse has a wit and verve which cannot be denied.

What I expected (and eventually got) was a bit of mastery of the art of the ridiculous situation, where the escalation of events and unlikely (but usually, rationally-following) coincidences provides an equal escalation of hilarity.

Wodehouse's wordplay is strong, but it is likely that my estimation of him fell in that it was not as strong as the aforementioned authors. I find that the greatest wit and humor comes with that one must work for; a sense that you have shared something with the author: bridged time and space and come to a coy little understanding. For me, the sense of such a wink and nudge which moves even beyond death connects the fundamental tragedy which underlies humor to the absurd tragedy of life, itself.

Not everyone needs such bizarre little requirements met, however; nor the ego-stoking of matching wits with some great author. Wodehouse presents little idiomatic tales which achieve the greatest challenge of any author: making pointless drivel seem as important in writing as it is in our everyday lives. In a world where books seem to have the ability to make all-powerful, beautiful, serendipidous, charming gods into boring cliches, he is a welcome refreshment.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven short stories from the master of English prose. Will Freddie Widgeon ever find a maid? He is trying very hard. He even manages to convince a flame that he is a connoisseur of good old Alfred, Lord Tennyson. “Me read Tennyson? Well, well, well. Bless my soul! Why I know him by heart – some of him.” – Parts of Lady of Shalott in fact. You can get far knowing a couple of verses, but not far enough.

And if you're polite and carry a lady's bags, another engagement will be broken. When fate is against you.

So we are in the wonderful world of Wodehouse, with Eggs, and Beans, and Birds and what not. In the Code of the Mulliners the code forbids our lad from breaking off an engagement. It must be done, because apparently his mother is insane. How do you bring the lady to be mad at you? By pretending that there is another lady in your life. But this one actually has a happy ending, if you think that matrimony is such a thing. Actually though, it is falling in and out of love forever.

Eleven stories is about the limit of stories you can read. After a while they have a tendency to get on your nerves. But while you are in the mood there is nothing on Earth that can be better than having, e.g. Uncle Fred flitting by.

[Brian E Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of 11 stories told by members of the Drones Club, including Mr. Mulliner. In recently reviewing the 36 Wodehouse books I’ve read on Goodreads, I found I had rated 31 of them as 4 stars. This will make it difficult to choose among them when I start to reread them in the sot-so-distant future. Therefore, I decided to make a conscious effort to grade some more of the Wodehouse books as 5 stars or 3 stars instead.
After reading the first 6 stories in this collection, I thought this would be a 3-star Wodehouse. The stories were a mixed bag with several so-so stories; I generally find the Mulliner or Drones Club stories less engaging than the Jeeves and Blandings ones. But, then came an Uncle Fred story, always a 4+ subject, and the last story, about Mordred Mulliner’s fiery romance, had me constantly chuckling. Long story short, despite some so-so stories, this collection contains enough grin and chuckle inducing moments that anything less than a 4-star rating would be a lie. So, once again, a 4-star Wodehouse. Sigh.

[Scribh · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is it about Wodehouse? It's not just the tone, the subject-matter, his vapid, idle, unintentionally-deprecating idiots that wreak havoc on two continents while dressed in the latest fashions. He takes not only England and its society, but the usually sober themes of marriage, inheritance, death, and friends, as his own comic inventions, and makes us laugh so hard at the vagaries of existence that we burst out laughing in libraries and offend everyone around us. This book in general deals with disappointed love, and in particular that suffered by the members of the Drones Club, an institution rendered immortal by the inclusion of the honorable Bertie Wooster amongst their number. He doesn't make an appearance, alas, but it speaks volumes for this one book that he and his Jeeves are scarcely missed.

[Trux · Rating 4 out of 5]

I might have enjoyed this even more than the Wooster & Jeeves books. LOVED the last story, which was oddly disturbing (only mildly so, of course, which made it very surreal). Also appreciated the self-consciousness (again, MILD) regarding class issues. This stuff is too much fun and sometimes all I want to read.

[Mariangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as full of laughs as other Wodehouse, but still a fun light read. There are several non connected short stories about members of the Drones Club.

“You won’t catch Freddie joining any Foreign Legion, once he gets on to the fact that it means missing his morning cup of tea. All the same, I can understand his feeling a bit upset at the moment, poor old blighter. Tragedy has come into his life. He’s just lost the only girl in the world.”
“Well, he ought to be used to that by this time.”

[Adelaide Mcginnity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wodehouse gonna Wodehouse.

[Vicki Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun!

[Mauro · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Wodehouse book is better than the last, and they are, than this one would give an unfortunate non-iniciated a splendid opportunitty, since there are various stories one better than the other.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite style of Wodehouse. Young Men in Spats is a collection of short stories, but there were a couple of very funny chapters!

[Illiterate · Rating 5 out of 5]

In which one short story finds our hero surrounded by cats and, far, far worse, an Alsatian.

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always fun to read another of Wodehouse's short story collections! I often think about the fact that HM Queen Elizabeth II was a Wodehouse fan, which makes me so happy. God Save the Queen! RIP, Your Majesty.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eight stories star mostly the usual crowd of Drones Club suspects, are good fun, and are topped off with a trio of family tales told by Mr Mulliner over his hot Scotch and lemon. With lines like, “He described her to me, and I received the impression of a sort of blend of Tallulah Bankhead and a policewoman,” the good pieces more than make up for the one or two lackluster entries.